JJust after this movie came out on DVD I showed it to my AP Environmental Science class on a day where we were missing kids due to testing. About a week later we were on a nature walk behind the school and one of the students jumped into the water and exclaimed: "Look at me! I feel like Hushpuppy!" It warmed my heart they he had actually paid attention to the artsy film I showed them, but it also demonstrated how this movie can get underneath your skin. We all have a little Hushpuppy inside of us.
Hushpuppy (if you haven't already figured it out) is the little girl in the picture above (potrayed brilliantly by an 8 year-old Quvenzhane' Wallis) and the main character in Beasts of the Southern Wild, my favorite film from 2012. This movie is a beautiful visual poem about rising from the ashes of destruction, the innocence of youth, and victory over our demons no matter how imposing. This was Benh Zeitlin's first film and he didn't make another until this year (Wendy). Reading his biography he has a real love for filmmaking that goes beyond churning out productions. For example he spent time interning in Prague at an animation studio and he has worked at a Manhattan elementary school teaching students to make their own films. Pretty cool stuff.
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